URGENT HOMEWORK DUE IN 6 HOURS

Research

1.     Perform a capacity analysis to determine if your company’s capacity in the segment you chose is adequate to meet forecasted demand by completing the following steps:

a.     Enter the segment’s total industry unit demand (located at the top of your selected segment’s page in the Courier) in the spreadsheet cell labeled “unit demand in segment.”

b.     Now calculate your competitors’ total production capacity in the segment for the next round, by completing the following steps:

                                              i. Go to page 4 of the Courier

                                            ii. Scroll down to the production information.

                                           iii. Add together the amounts in the “capacity next round” column for each of your competitor’s products in your chosen segment.

                                           iv. Enter this total in the spreadsheet cell labeled “competitors’ capacity in segment.”

c.     Finally, examine the “guaranteed unit sales”, which is the difference between the totals you calculated for “a” and “b” above (i.e., the difference between the unit demand in the segment and your competitors’ total production capacity).

Respond

2.     Discuss the impact this analysis will have on your capacity investment decisions in the segment.

3.     What other plans do you need to make (e.g., financing, etc.) to take advantage of this opportunity?  Note: Remember that capacity investments take a year to take effect.

4.     What elements will your company need to incorporate into its strategy to make sure that adequate capacity is available each year?  For example, should you employ a “capacity trigger” to assist in your decision-making process, where if capacity utilization reaches a certain percentage, you will invest in set amount of additional capacity?